Kent County Council and the UK Border Force

Folkestone and Hythe Constituency Labour Party wishes to record its concern at comments made by Conservative Councillor Rory Love (a Kent County Councillor for Folkestone and Hythe), who recently called on the Border Force to “do their job” in stopping young migrants travelling from France to the UK via the English Channel.
We should recognise the importance of the application of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the legal provisions of the Dublin Convention – and indeed the local authority’s own obligations in meeting the needs of children and young people.
Regardless of their country of origin or their traumatic experiences leading them to attempt the dangerous crossing of the English Channel, basic humanitarian values teach us to reach out to provide shelter – not to put children deliberately in harm’s way. Anything less would be a breach of our safeguarding regulations.
No doubt the leader of Kent County Council Cllr. Roger Gough and Matt Dunkley (KCC Corporate Director, Children, Young People and Education) will wish to comment further on the position of KCC and we look forward to their statement of clarification.